Carlson, instead, settled on a 1977 Chrysler Newport for his Blues Mobile. And that's not the only liberty he's taken.

There are four speakers on the exterior of the black-and-white car, for blasting the blues. A PA system for playing his harmonica and needling passersby. There's a GPS built in. Seats imported from an old Eddie Bauer Ford Explorer. There are stencils, near the rear windows, of Belushi and Aykroyd.

And this little catchphrase, stuck on the side: "Just for Fun."

Fun seems a sort of religion for Carlson and his primary sidekick, Dave Rathbun, a voluble Auto Rust Technicians employee who plays Jake to Carlson's Elwood; the car may be a marketing tool for the business — the company's name and phone number are stenciled on the side — but that hardly seems the point.

The guys, often dressed in the Blues Brothers' trademark black suits and black ties, take the vehicle to all manner of fundraisers and car shows. They get 80-year-olds shaking it, women sprawling all over the car for photos. They give parade organizers fair warning: put us behind a politician and we will heckle.

The Blues Mobile has been north to Toronto, west to Los Angeles, and plenty of places in between. Rathbun, taking me back through the shop on a recent afternoon to inspect the car, pauses at a picture taken at halftime of an arena football game in Little Rock, Arkansas, not long ago.

Riding shotgun in the Blues Mobile: James Best, better known as the bumbling Hazzard County Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane of The Dukes of Hazzard, chasing the General Lee around the stadium.

This is actually the second iteration of the vehicle. Carlson made the first, known as the Blues Patrol, in 1998.

A guitarist friend asked him to jam one night at a club in Foster. Akroyd happened to be in Rhode Island that night and Carlson, who bears a passing resemblance to the comedian, thought it would be fun to pull a fast one on the audience.

He dressed up as Elwood and painted a 1970 Plymouth Fury black-and-white, gluing a piece of red Tupperware on top as a faux siren. It took off from there.

Open House I put on the obligatory hard hat and walk through the doors of what used to be Avalon on Lansdowne Street, across from Fenway Park. To the layman — me — it's all dust, noise, metal, and mess.

Review: The Murder Trial of John Gordon at the Park Theatre Who knew? Everybody knows about that frisky, independent start by Roger Williams, and the first bloodshed of the American Revolution with the burning of the Gaspee , but who knows about the dispute between the lowly immigrant Gordon family and the prestigious Spragues, which resulted in the last state execution in Rhode Island, back in 1845?

Cranston's King of Kong faces off with a legend Steve Wiebe is a bit of a legend in gaming circles. He was, after all, at the center of the documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters , which chronicled his push to topple Billy Mitchell as top Donkey Kong player in the world.

Spoonem's turns 30 If I want to experience the best of Vo Dilun, all I have to do is walk around the corner from my house.

Review: Rim Nahm It's hard to recall without a pang, but there was a time when there were no Thai restaurants in Cranston's Pawtuxet Village neighborhood. Nowadays, diners have their choice.

Review: The Campaign When it comes to mainstream movies commenting on political issues this year, Jay Roach's satirical comedy may be as bold as it's going to get.

Black Box’s One-Act Play Festival Short one-act plays can come across as trivial, a joke that's all punchline, or as resonant as a pivotal scene from a two-hour drama.

‘Uncle Jimmy’ and Miss USA do Cranston "We've had a few people pass out. We've had a few people jump off the front of the stage because the lights are so bright . . . We've had a few wardrobe malfunctions," Jim Donovan says.

LIBERAL WARRIOR | April 10, 2013 When it comes to his signature issues — climate change, campaign finance reform, tax fairness — Whitehouse makes little secret of his approach: marshal the facts, hammer the Republicans, and embarrass them into action.

AT BROWN, A WIN FOR CLIMATE CHANGE ACTIVISTS | April 11, 2013 A key Brown University oversight committee has voted to recommend the school divest from coal, delivering a significant victory to student climate change activists.

HACKING POLITICS: A GUIDE | April 03, 2013 Last year, the Internet briefly upended everything we know about American politics.

BREAK ON THROUGH | March 28, 2013 When I spoke with Treasurer Gina Raimondo this week, I opened with the obligatory question about whether she'll run for governor. "I'm seriously considering it," she said. "But I think as you know — we've talked about it before — I have little kids: a six-year-old, an eight-year-old. I'm a mother. It's a big deal."

THE LIBERAL CASE FOR GUNS | March 27, 2013 The school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut spurred hope not just for sensible gun regulation, but for a more nuanced discussion of America's gun culture. Neither wish has been realized.